BATTLE CREEK, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – After being in the works for five years, New Holland Brewing Co. will finally open its downtown Battle Creek brewpub at 11:00 a.m. Friday.
The Holland, Michigan-based brewery has hired about 70 employees for its Battle Creek location and likely will add more positions in the coming months.
It will be open from 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; 11:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 11:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Sunday.
In addition to an indoor dining area that seats 150, there is retail space with New Holland beer, spirits, and apparel at the Michigan Avenue entrance.
A 4,000-square-foot beer garden with much of the space under a permanent cover with radiant heaters for year-round outdoor dining is expected to open this summer. It will include an outdoor walk-up bar, televisions, yard games, and a stage for entertainment, increasing the overall capacity to about 300 people.
A small, three-barrel beer brewing and distillery operation also is on site.
Battle Creek Unlimited sold the former J.C. Penney building to the brewery for $1 and awarded it $200,000 in incentives to rehabilitate the site, originally constructed in 1926.
New Holland also was awarded a $968,500 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation as part of its Community Revitalization Program and $265,000 in funding from a Real Estate Connection grant toward the project.
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